close
close

Arizona's first Big 12 home game against Texas Tech, starting the league 3-0

What to watch in the Big 12 Conference this week:

Game of the week

Texas Tech (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) at Arizona (3-1, 1-0), Saturday, 11 p.m. ET (Fox)

Arizona's first Big 12 home game begins under the spotlight as Texas Tech looks to get to 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2013. The Red Raiders are the highest scoring team in the league with nearly 42 points per game. They also have Big 12 rushing leader Tahj Brooks (137.8 yards per game), who has rushed for at least 100 yards in his four games this season and 12 of his last 15. Arizona is coming off a 23-10 win at this point. NO. 10 Utah, which hadn't lost at home to an unranked team in six years. The Wildcats had two interceptions and eight pass breakups, the most in a game since 2018. Tech quarterback Behren Morton has thrown for 285 yards per game with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

The undercard

No. 16 Iowa State (4-0, 1-0) vs. Baylor (2-3, 0-2). Iowa State is coming off its first undefeated September since 2011 and leads the Big 12 with a plus-7 turnover margin. The Cyclones' 20-0 win in Houston was their first conference road game since 1971 and coach Matt Campbell's 57th school win of his career. Baylor's had some heartbreak: It lost to BYU, which had an interception with 59 seconds left, and Colorado's Hail Mary touchdown at the end of regulation forced overtime, which resulted in the Bears fumbling at the goal line in overtime.

Impact player

Oklahoma State safety Trey Rucker's 63 tackles are the most of any Power Four player, as are his 35 solo stops. He has at least 10 tackles in four of five games. The Cowboys (3-2, 0-2), who host West Virginia, have the league's top two tacklers in linebacker Nick Martin with 47.

Within the numbers

Kansas has snapped a four-game losing streak since the start of the season with a 48-0 win over FCS team Lindenwood. The Jayhawks will be Arizona State's opponent in their first Big 12 home game on Saturday. … UCF is the only FBS team to rush for at least 140 yards in the last 17 games, although the Knights' 177 yards in a loss to Colorado last week was their season low. … West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene set season highs with 295 passing yards and 87 rushing yards in a win at Kansas. … No. 17 BYU (5-0, 2-0), No. 18 Utah (4-1, 1-1) and No. 20 Kansas State (4-1, 1-1) are among the big five 12 teams starting October with an open date join Cincinnati (3-2, 1-1) and Colorado (4-1, 2-0).

Scoreless in the Big 12

Houston (1-4, 0-2) was shut out in each of its first two Big 12 games under coach Willie Fritz. This is the first time since 1994 that the Cougars have gone scoreless in back-to-back games. The only time there were three games in a row was at the end of the 1947 season. There was only one shutout in the Big 12 last year, the Cougars' 41-0 loss at Kansas State. They play Friday night at TCU (3-2, 1-1), whose nine-game winning streak in the series began with its last three meetings as Southwest Conference opponents from 1993-95.

___

Get alerts about the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Register here. AP College Football: and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press